Why do healthcare professionals still insist that birth control has no effect on your mood even though millions of women say otherwise?

[blondiecurly]

I (25F) went to consult with a healthcare professional to get a new birth control prescription since the previous one I was on triggered feelings of anxiety and depression. When I explained this, the healthcare professional proceeded to tell me that he had never heard of birth control affecting mood and he suggested that I seek separate help for my mental health. I actually had to strongly insist for him to prescribe me a pill with a lower estrogen dosage. While I’m not sure it will solve the problem, I figured it’s worth a try.
The issue is how dismissive he was about my complaint. I like to think that I know myself very well and I can say with 100% certainty that I felt different while I was on the pill and for about a month after I stopped. I’ve been off of it for 3 months now and I feel perfectly fine. And I’m not the only one…I’ve read so many birth control pill reviews online with women insisting that certain pills triggered some mental health issues. However at the same time, I’ve read articles saying that this is all a myth. So what is the truth?

I agree, birth control pills caused terrible anxiety and low mood for me. I have had the coil pushed on me by various female drs and when I refused on the basis of not wanting to take hormones due to effects on my MH, I was treated with disbelief (well a tut and eye roll that I interpreted as disbelief :))

I suspect it's the usual reason - HCPs dismiss women's experience and feedback. Well done on standing your ground.

I couldn't tolerate hormonal contraception, awful side effects for me.

Sexism.

Women's health issues not important because we're not men.

YANBU. Synthetic progestins make me feel suicidal. It took me until my 40's to work this out. I stopped hormonal contraception in my 20's but when I went on HRT I once again felt suicidal and had to stop it. GP said there's nothing they can do! I don't have mental health issues and when I'm not on anything I feel happy and relaxed (just having a billion hot flushes a day, but it's preferable to the alternative).
It actually makes me incredibly angry that here we are in 2022 and still no hormonal contraceptives for men (even though they're available for male dogs!)

I removed my own mirena coil the other month, never felt better

’I suspect it's the usual reason - HCPs dismiss women's experience and feedback. Well done on standing your ground.’

This ^

Well a large study in Denmark a few years ago did find a link, there was a lot of publicity about this at the time

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27680324/

I agree, oral contraception does affect mood. It's OK once you understand what it is and why you are feeling a particular way, it can be managed and it passes.

It's ridiculous. It's also totally nonsensical given that men are so keen to tell women that hormones are affecting their moods when women are angry or upset with them. But synthetic hormones couldn't possibly do that!

I have tried multiple different pills, the implant, the copper coil and the hormonal coil. It feels like every one has massive downsides which no one discusses with you.

No idea why they do it... but I'm having my mirena coil swapped for a copper coil next month because if I don't I will end up in jail!!!

I've given it 9 months... 9 months of no sex drive, constant thrush and an unbelievable rage!!!!! I haven't felt like this since I was on the pill, but having been on it for 10 years (since I was a teenager), I had no idea the effect it was having on me. Its only now that I realise... ahhhhh it was the hormones that were wrong.

So wanted to be one of the women who loved the coil.

It does seem crazy that we’re ‘allowed’ to acknowledge the menopause or PMS can affect our mental health and mood but it’s a straight dismissal for pinpointing hormonal contraception as a cause.

It's a huge issue. If the lower oestrogen doesn't help, try to see if you can find one with lower progesterone. I'm intolerant to progesterone but even my fecking psychiatrist keeps trying to put me on it!

I have ongoing depression and anxiety that has it's ups and downs but is managable through various means. I've been on the pill a couple of times in my life for up to a year each time and it made my depression unbearable.

It drives me mad in general that some healthcare professionals seem to insist that all sexually active women use internal methods of contraception but even more mad that hormonal contraception is the default and as you say a 'no thanks, have been using condoms successfully for 15 years, hormonal contraception makes me suicidal' is met with derision and 'well we'll see you back in the maternity unit in 9 months then' attitude.

I think to admit that women are right and it can massively fuck you up is to admit that there's nobody interested in researching anything better.

Medication after breast cancer to stop or control estrogen only has the mental side effects of ‘mood changes’ according to the leaflet with the medication - liars!

The pill definitely affected my mood. I kept waking up at 4am an felt tearful throughout the day

I ended up being off the pill for two weeks (took the week break but ran out of the pill and was working late so didnt get to a chemist for another week). I was back on it about 4/5days and I remember it being a beautiful sunny day and I was packing to go on holidays with my family to Spain, I should have been in great form but I had to keep stopping to cry. I could feel no joy or excitement only sadness and anxiety.

Dh came in to me and said please stop taking the pill it doesn't agree with you. He said I was like a different person during that second week off of it.
I stopped that day and never looked back.

I know. Its mad.

We all know our mood fluctuates through our cycle with changing hormones, so why on earth anyone thinks adding more hormones into the mix doesn't impact it....

Yep. Funny how men quip about knowing when women are "due on" because of how angry or weepy they get but no...hormone tablets, patches, gels etc won't change your mood at all. Gaslighting b*tards.

I should add, I've not taken the pill in 7 years now and im much, much better for it.

See also ‘HRT doesn’t cause weight gain’.

OP the pill didn’t agree with me and that’s why I had a copper coil at around your age. Had it in for 12 years until removed when we wanted to try for a baby (I conceived straight away). It was brilliant for me.

Seeing as on the NHS website a side effect of the combined pill is listed as mood swings. All medications have potential side effects and not everyone responds in the same way.

When I explained this, the healthcare professional proceeded to tell me that he had never heard of birth control affecting mood and he suggested that I seek separate help for my mental health.

He's a bloody gaslighting liar

Would be interested to hear the argument from the 5% that think YABU. Obviously you're correct, women all know it. Had the same experience myself although have actually been fine with mirena. Although that wouldn't lead me to dismiss others who had felt the effect of the hormones I guess its low and constant enough that I can tolerate it.

Last time I spoke to the GP about contraception they were very reluctant to prescribe me any kind of hormonal anything precisely because of the link between them and depression/anxiety.
I'm already on meds for depression and anxiety and the GP didn't want to make it any worse.

So not all HCPs are clueless!

because it is easier to dismiss their concerns than address them?